John Krasinski: 'Promised Land' was written with Matt Damon's kids 'climbing all over him'

The good news for John Krasinski? He got a great opportunity to work with Matt Damon on "Promised Land," a new film the pair wrote and star in. The not-so-great news? He and Damon barely had time to do it.

"I just drove to his house every weekend (to write the script) -- he wins (when it comes to being pressed for time) by default with four little girls," Krasinski told TODAY's Matt Lauer Monday. "We actually wrote with children climbing all over him, and he was doing bath time and dinner and everything, and we still got it done."

And shouldering not just writing, acting but also producing duties, he said, was also a little daunting. "I thought it was going to be fine. It was terrifying," he said.

These days, Krasinski's big screen career shows great promise, but his TV one is winding down -- at least for now -- as "The Office" prepares to end after nine seasons on NBC. But as Krasinski explained, he nearly left Hollywood after giving acting a shot for a couple of years. His mom talked him into staying a little longer -- and he landed "The Office."

Krasinski said he's thought about how different his life would be today if he hadn't listened to her. "It's a little bit of an existential crisis after a while, because I wouldn't have met my wife (Emily Blunt), I wouldn't have been out in L.A.... Truly, when I say the show has given me everything, it's given me everything."